The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for processing printing products.
A process and an apparatus of this type are known from EP-A-0,341,425 and, respectively, the corresponding US-A-5,052,667. An apparatus for collecting printing products has a processing drum which is driven rotationally about its axis and has radial wall elements, on which saddle-shaped rests running parallel to the axis are arranged in the radially outer end regions. Provided in each receiving part, bounded in each case by two neighboring wall elements, are controllable clamping arrangements which are displaceable in the direction of the axis. In successive feed sections of the processing drum, printing products are deposited in a straddling manner on the rests or on printing products already deposited on said rests. The two printing product parts each reaching into a receiving part on both sides of the rest are held firmly clamped by the clamping arrangements concerned during passing through of the lower part of the circulating path and are fed in the axial direction to the next-following section. The clamping arrangements consequently at the same time prevent the printing products from falling off the processing drum. In the upper region of the circulating path, in which the printing products rest on the rests by their own weight, the clamping arrangements are released and are pushed back into the original position by a return stroke. In the case of this known embodiment, consequently the entire lower part of the circulating path is utilized for the axial transport of the printing products by one step in each case and the printing products are not conveyed in the upper region of the circulating path. The product parts that extend reaching into a receiving part and are portions of the printing products deposited on neighboring rests are in each case firmly held in common by a clamping arrangement.
On the basis of this prior art, it is an object of the present invention to develop the known process further in such a way that the apparatus serving to carry out the process is as simple as possible, variable and flexible in application, and the processing drum can be constructed with a small diameter.